Preview: Barons classic car auction, Sandown Park, 16 December

Barons’ 17 December sale, which takes place at Sandown Park, features an interesting and diverse range of vehicles. And – a first for Barons – the sale also features two aeroplanes. Of the cars, a 1965 Jaguar E-type 4.2 Series I roadster restoration project is attracting the most pre-sale interest.

Barons is ending the year on a high in a different way with the inclusion of two 1950s De Havilland Canada Chipmunk aerolanes in the Yuletide Classic sale. The De Havilland Canada Chipmunk is a fully aerobatic two-seat training aircraft, and was the standard, post-War primary trainer for the RAF, Army and Navy. The first example offered in the sale is an ex-manufacturer demonstration machine, while the second is a former RAF instruction plane with just 70 hours on the engine. They carry estimates of £53,000-58,000 and £43,000-48,000 respectively.

The Jaguar E-type was laid-up in 1982 – since which time the car has covered just 300 miles. It has a Martin Robey shell with new (in 1982) doors, bootlid, interior trim and hood. New front wings and under pan are loosely fitted. The car is emerging from long-term storage ripe for re-commissioning and the completion of the restoration project. It has an estimate of £35,000-55,000.

Barons’ Yuletide Classic has plenty of cars for buyers who want something they can immediately display with pride. The 1964 Ford Lotus Cortina has been in the vendor’s ownership for some 30 years, and originally arrived in a number of boxes. Over the decades the owner has had the car restored from the ground up but has used it very little since the project was complete. In fact, it has covered only 24,000 miles in 49 years (estimate £38,000-42,000).

The 1971 Triumph TR6 has had one owner from new and covered 54,000 miles; most of which were in the first three years of its life. The car has seen little use in recent years, but has always been kept garaged and has been regularly inspected and run (estimate £13,500-£16,000).

The sale also features several rare 1930s and '40s US cars. The 1939 Buick 46S Business Coupé (below) is one of just 15,000 built. This impressive machine features fold-up opera seats in the back and snail stalk rear light mounts (estimate £20,000-24,000). The 1933 Chevrolet Master Eagle CA would look very much at home on the set of Bugsy Malone. This is described by Barons as a nice, original car (estimate £12,500-14,000).

Two other unusual lots are the 1975 Citroen AK400 (2CV) van and the time warp 1981 Vauxhall Chevette ES. The Chevette really does look as if it has just been driven out of a garage in 1981. In lovely condition inside and out it has covered less than 40,000 miles from new. With a guide price of £2000-2500 this would make a wonderful Christmas present for a prospective first-time classic owner.

For more information, visit Barons' website